Classroom Residencies

Solar One offers classroom residencies for NYC Schools! There are two options for Solar One student programs: onsite classroom residency programs at your school, and estuary & park ecology field trips to Solar One.

To schedule a program please email us at education[at]solar1[dot]org.

Bring a Solar One educator to your school

Solar One Educators will visit up to 4 classes per day for 1-10 sessions delivering hands on activities such as designing wind turbines, building batteries, testing water quality, and more! You can mix and match lessons from the Energy, Water, Materials, Air, or Food curriculum to meet the needs of your classes. All workshops include materials for hands-on projects; printed worksheets for the students, and planning and preparation with participating teachers.

Take a field trip to Solar One

Solar One maintains Stuyvesant Cove Park, a sustainably-managed, 2-acre park along the East River at 22nd Street in Manhattan. The park and adjacent East River are home to hundreds of species and an ideal site to lead estuary and plant ecology education field trips for students. Field trip is can accommodate up to 35 students, and teachers can select from the field trip options below.

Trip Option 1: Digging in the Dirt!Program Description: Students will learn about soil formation and composition through hands-on activities in our interactive garden. Learn about decomposers and dig for terrestrial invertebrates on our old compost pile. Best for grades K-3.

Trip Option 2: Permaculture Plant NurseryProgram Description: Students will examine various seeds in our native plant park and learn about how they spread, whether by wind, water, or animals. Explore plant propagation by planting seeds, making cuttings, and potting plants. Participants can also help weed and water in our working permaculture nursery. Suitable for Grades K-6.

Trip Option 3: NYC Estuary EcologyNYC Estuary Ecology: Students will learn about the history and health of the East River, and conduct abiotic water quality monitoring tests. Learn about local sources of pollution in the harbor and discuss how we can all work to improve local water quality. Suitable for Grades 3-12.

Trip Option 4: Sustainable Service Learning: Youth in grades 7-12 work together to steward our protected wildlife habitat and maintain the waterfront esplanade. For more details on trips please download our Field Trip One Pager: Park Trips 2019

Career & Technical Education: Green Industry Certification for Students and Teachers

Solar One offers training and testing in green industry certifications for High School students. Training is held at the school or at Solar One’s state of the art training lab in Long Island City, Queens. Three course options are offered:

GPRO Fundamentals (7 hours plus exam): This certificate course covers the basics of sustainability and provides an overview of the essential strategies and work practices that make buildings more efficient. Covers: economic and health benefits of green building, causes and impacts of a changing climate, transitioning to sustainable construction practices, complying with green codes and standards, understanding LEED, overview of green building strategies, and the importance of building commissioning (systems quality assurance).

GPRO Fundamentals plus Electrical (20 hours plus exam) – 12th grade only: This certificate course covers: important sustainability economic opportunities for the electrical industry, the role of electrical systems within the “whole-building” approach, the key differences between green and conventional electrical products and work practices, improving efficiencies in lighting and HVAC, new technologies for distributed generation, using benchmarking and other tools to maintain building performance, the electrician’s role in the building commissioning process, and retrofitting existing buildings with energy-efficient technologies.

Building Performance Institute Building Science Principles (20 hours plus exam): This certificate course trains students on the relationship between the building envelope, heating, A/C, insulation, mechanical ventilation, lighting, appliances and other systems of the home. All with a focus on energy efficiency, how to mitigate home performance issues, and getting familiarized with diagnostic equipment.

“The electricity project making light was the most exciting. This made me consider studying engineering.”

–Juan, 11th Grade

“I would like to continue learning about these topics after high school, maybe take an environmental science class or join a club. I had a great time learning (wow, I think that’s the first time I ever said that =)”